Movies

Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen has wrapped shooting of his first Mainland Chinese feature “The Breaking Ice.” Hailed as one of Asia’s brightest young directors, Chen competed in the shorts competition at Cannes in 2007 with “Grandma” and won the Camera d’Or with his debut feature “Ilo Ilo” in 2013. His sophomore feature “Wet Season” premiered

Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, the section running alongside the Cannes Film Festival, is set to change its leadership after the 2022 edition. It will be Paolo Moretti’s third and last edition as artistic director of the program. The SRF (Société des réalisateurs de films) which is the governing body of Directors Fortnight, announced the news on

Komplizen Film, the German studio behind Princess Diana biopic “Spencer,” have joined The Creatives, an alliance of independent production companies. The alliance was formed to increase the companies’ “collective power in the face of the changing landscape.” Film and TV production outfit Komplizen, which was founded in 1999 by Janine Jackowski and Maren Ade, joins

In anticipation of its world premiere at the Berlinale, Latido Films, which is handling international distribution, has provided Variety exclusive access to the international trailer for Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s debut feature, “Lullaby.” The film, which takes an earnest glimpse into the fraught dynamics of cross-generational caregiving, will be included as part of the Panorama strand at

“Yanagawa,” which this week won the top prize at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas in France, has been set as the opening title of the 17th Osaka Asian Film Festival in Japan. The festival, which runs as an in-person event, March 10-20, 2022 will close with multinational co-production “Miss Osaka.” Yanagawa, was

The Oscar nominations for “Drive My Car,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s three-hour drama about a man dealing with the death of his wife, have thrilled the director’s native Japan. News of the four Academy Awards nominations was reported by all major Japanese media, from the most serious Nikkei business daily to the sports tabloids whose usual coverage

Visionary visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, who died Monday, contributed his groundbreaking inventions and techniques to classics including “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and “Blade Runner.” Among his many honors were three visual effects Oscar nominations (“Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Star Trek: The

Robert Pattinson guarantees comic book movie fans will know Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” is unlike any other Batman movie ever made as soon as they see the opening shot. Reeves’ nearly-three hour Caped Crusader epic is inspired by New Hollywood classics from the 1970s, including “Taxi Driver,” “The Conversation” and “Chinatown.” Pattinson told GQ magazine

Zhang Lu’s “Yanagawa” (China), Hong Sung-eun’s “Aloners” (South Korea) and Fujimoto Akio’s “Along the Sea” (Japan/Vietnam) were among the top award winners at France’s Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas. “Yanagawa,” which opened the 2021 Pingyao Film Festival, won the Golden Cyclo, the festival’s top honor awarded by the international jury. “Aloners,” which has

Gina Duncan will serve at the president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, returning to the non-profit organization after a short stint at the Sundance Institute. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Duncan, who previously served as BAM’s first vice president of film and strategic programming. “We saw Gina’s extraordinary leadership skills firsthand during her

Three women featured in the Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler” have launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help them clear their debts. Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjoholm and Ayleen Charlotte were all victims of the eponymous swindler, an Israeli man named Shimon Hayut who allegedly conned women on Tinder out of millions of dollars by catfishing

Among this year’s class of Oscars first-timers is “West Side Story” star Ariana DeBose, whose show-stopping portrayal of Anita in the movie musical earned her a best supporting actress Oscar nod. “Well, a lot can happen before 9:30 a.m. on a Tuesday,” DeBose quipped, jumping on the phone with Variety just hours after learning the

Last August, as movie theater owners gathered in Las Vegas for their annual convention CinemaCon, they were treated to behind-the-scenes footage of Tom Cruise doing what Tom Cruise has made a career of doing: risking death and defying the laws of physics to pull off some of the splashiest stunts on the big screen. In

Action-drama “The Way,” written and directed by Dastan Khalili (“Master,” “Insomnia Manica”), has been picked up for international sales by Iuvit Media Sales. Iuvit will launch sales at the upcoming European Film Market (Feb. 10-17). The film stars Eli Jane (“Kong: Skull Island,” “Argo,” “The Mandalorian,” “Dirty John”). The movie opened for domestic theatrical release

The nominations for the 94th Academy Awards have been announced, and it was a great morning for the likes of “Dune,” “The Power of the Dog,” “West Side Story,” “Don’t Look Up” and more. For smaller-scale indies such as Sean Baker’s “Red Rocket,” Janicza Bravo’s “Zola” and Michael Sarnoski’s “Pig,” it was a morning of

Streamers, jaw-droppers, Princess Diana and heartbroken Little Monsters sum up the 2022 Oscar nominations. It’s unclear what was more shocking — the snub of Lady Gaga or the over-performance of Netflix’s “The Power of the Dog,” which has put the streaming giant in the best position to nab its first best picture trophy, something its

The leadup to the 2022 Berlin Film Festival has been a veritable rollercoaster ride for co-directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian due to the global spread of the Omicron variant. But while other top fests such as Sundance and Rotterdam went online again, Berlin has stayed the course due to the two chiefs’ determination to

Best-known for her action roles in “Skyscraper,” with Dwayne Johnson, and Simon West’s “Skyfire,” Asian star Hannah Quinlivan has joined director Jesse Atlas’s sci-fi feature “Soul Assassin.” The film’s ensemble cast also includes Bruce Willis (“Die Hard,” “The Sixth Sense”), Andy Allo (“Upload,” “Pitch Perfect 3”), Nomzamo Mbatha (“Coming2America,” “All About Love”), Dominic Purcell (“Killer

Following a record-breaking year for diversity at the Academy Awards, with nine actors of color nabbing nominations in 2021, the 2022 lineup featured just four actors of color: Ariana DeBose, Aunjanue Ellis, Will Smith and Denzel Washington. With this latest nomination for “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Washington extended his lead as the most-nominated Black actor

First look footage from Jordan Peele’s “Nope” has arrived in a teaser video touting the movie’s full trailer release on Super Bowl Sunday. The brief footage provides the first look at Peele’s cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Steven Yeun and Keke Palmer. “Nope” is Peele’s directorial follow-up to acclaimed horror films “Get Out” and “Us,” which each

Visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, one of the masterminds behind the visual effects on some of the most visually audacious science fiction films of all time, including “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Blade Runner,” died Monday from complications from mesothelioma. He was 79. His daughter Amy wrote on Facebook.

The Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market is gearing up for its second virtual edition with an improved online infrastructure for exhibiting companies and a wide-ranging conference program that focuses on a transforming industry and the changes that are shaping its future. For Dennis Ruh, who took over as EFM director in 2020, it’s the

The 2022 Oscar nominations are finally here. Leslie Jordan and Tracee Ellis Ross are announcing this year’s Academy Award nominations on Tuesday in two parts — the first half begins at 5:18 a.m. PT and continues at 5:31 a.m. PT. Viewers around the world will be able to watch a live stream of the announcement

In a new series, Variety catches up with the directors of the films shortlisted for the International Feature Film Oscar to discuss their road to the awards, what they’ve learned so far, and what’s taken them off guard. A crowdpleaser that quickly became a word-of-mouth hit in Cannes, Juho Kuosmanen’s “Compartment No. 6” follows Finnish

In a breath-taking plot twist, the health of Brazil’s indie production sector of films and TV shows has turned from the worst crisis in 30 years to an unprecedented boom. The growth is fuelled by commissions from streaming platforms such as Netflix, local Globoplay, Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max, and most recently the “resurrection”

Russian production and distribution powerhouse Central Partnership will launch two new animated features at this year’s European Film Market, along with a live-action film that will have its world premiere in competition at SXSW next month. “The Swiss Adventure” (pictured) is the first big-screen animated film from SMF Animation Studio, the venerable Russian animation house

Leading Italian sales company The Open Reel has snagged the international sales rights to Pablo Garcia Perez de Lara’s latest doc, “Born to be Born,” ahead of its world premiere at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin. Doc revolves around a progressive public school, the Escola Congrés-Indians, in Garcia’s native Barcelona, where preparations for

Dark comedy-drama “Concerned Citizen,” which has its world premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlinale, has debuted its trailer. Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal will be selling the film during the European Film Market. The film, a satirical parable on the insidious ways in which privilege can unleash the prejudice within, centers on Ben, who

A long awards season is almost on its last legs. On Tuesday, Leslie Jordan and Tracee Ellis Ross will unveil the nominees for the 94th Academy Awards. The presentation will begin at 5:18 a.m. PT/8:18 a.m. ET, and will be available to stream live on Oscar.com, Oscars.org, and the Academy’s Twitter, YouTube and Facebook accounts.

International distribution house Pink Parrot Media has taken worldwide sales rights outside Spain and Portugal to 3D/2D animated musical film “Valentina,” the feature debut of Spanish producer-turned director Chelo Loureiro of Galicia’s Ábano Producións. Based out of Montreal and Madrid, Pink Parrot will introduce the toon feature to international buyers at Berlin’s European Film Market